Derek Lunsford came to the 2026 Mr. Olympia as the defending champion and left in third place. Just one point separated him from Nick Walker after prejudging, yet the man who was so close to leading says something wasn't right long before the final call-out. Now he's explained what he felt. 

Nick Walker claimed his first Sandow Trophy in Las Vegas, with Samson Dauda taking second. Lunsford, who had been aiming for a third title, slipped to third overall. 

While reflecting on his third-place finish, the 2025 Mr Olympia Champion spoke to Tony Doherty of NPC News Online, where he admitted there was something that simply did not feel quite right to him.

"If I’m honest with you, even last night, it didn’t feel right," Lunsford told Doherty, as reported by Generation Iron. “I just felt like I was off. I was not at my best."

Despite losing out on the championship, Derek Lunsford was quick to acknowledge Nick Walker's achievement. 

"I told Nick, ‘Hey, you earned it. Good job.’" 

The scoreboard shows how tight it was. After prejudging, Lunsford sat on nine points to Walker's eight, just one behind the eventual champion. The finals swung the contest.

 Dauda won the last round to climb past him, and Walker did enough across both rounds to hold the lead. Walker finished on 18 points, Dauda on 20, and Lunsford on 24. 

Lunsford has been here before. He fell to third in 2024 and returned a year later to win the title back, becoming only the second man after Jay Cutler to regain the Sandow. He offered no excuses this time either, and a repeat of that rebound is what he now needs to chase a third crown. 

Did Derek Lunsford’s press conference foreshadow what was about to come

Before a single pose was struck on the Olympia stage, Derek Lunsford was already at the centre of a talking point. It came at Thursday's press conference, and it looked like a minor moment at the time. 

Samson Dauda ended the event by daring the leading Men's Open contenders to a spontaneous pose down. Nick Walker and Andrew Jacked stepped forward to join him. Lunsford stayed in his seat. 

Samson Dauda was quick to call out Lunsford for his decision.

"If you can't do something on a screen, when it's in front of your face, it's time to man up and stand up and say, 'Oh, yeah, you want to be a champion?'" Dauda told Beyond The Stage TV, as reported by Generation Iron. 

Few saw a link to Lunsford's condition, though, since the pose down was unofficial and athletes often choose carefully when to show their hand. 

Lunsford's later remarks changed how some may see it. He said he knew by Friday night that he was "off" and that his muscles were not responding as he expected. 

Still, the connection remains unproven. Lunsford has not tied the two moments together himself, and it is unknown whether he felt anything similar on Thursday.  

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco